UNCTAD's Work Programme on International Investment Agreements (IIAs) actively assists policymakers, government officials and other IIA stakeholders to formulate international investment rules that effectively foster sustainable development and inclusive growth.

Main goals:

Enhance the sustainable development dimension of international investment agreements (IIAs)

Provide comprehensive analysis on key issues arising from the complexity of the international investment regime

Develop a wide range of tools to support the formulation of more balanced international investment policies

The three pillars of activities:

Research and policy analysis - monitoring trends, identifying key emerging issues and providing cutting-edge knowledge on IIAs from a sustainable development perspective

Technical assistance - delivering trainings, seminars and workshops and offering ad-hoc advice to strengthen the capacity of beneficiaries in handling the complexities of the IIA regime

Intergovernmental consensus-building - exchanging and sharing best practices and experience with the view to fostering global investment governance

A new UNCTAD publication analyses the scope and definition of investor and investment in international investment agreements (IIAs). Based on the analysis, it offers suggestions aimed at assisting States to enter into IIAs which suit their specific polic

A new UNCTAD publication explores alternative methods that governments and international investors may use to resolve increasingly frequent disputes that must currently be handled through lengthy international arbitration.

International investment agreements are becoming more precise and more transparent in an effort to avoid disputes, says a new UNCTAD report, which attributes the trend to the growing number of investor-State arbitration cases.